Unfinished Beef: Who is Joey Chestnut? Age, net worth, career, and more explored

Joey Chestnut is currently the top-rated competitive eater, as ranked by Major League Eating. His rivalry with fellow competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi was the subject of the Netflix live event Unfinished Beef.

Joey Chestnut was born on November 25, 1983, making him 40 years old as of writing. According to Celebrity Net Worth, his current net worth is around $3 million.

Joey began his career in competitive eating in 2005 when he was a student at San Jose State University. He gained recognition for beating Rich LeFevre in a deep-fried asparagus eating contest.

That same year, he made his first appearance in Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, where he placed third behind his future rival Kobayashi, and Sonya Thomas.

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Joey Chestnut quickly made a name for himself in competitive eating

Joey Chestnut has won multiple competitive eating championships. (Image via Getty)

Joey Chestnut became a rising star in the world of competitive eating soon after making his debut. After placing third on his first go at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, he set a new world record for eating 32.5 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes at the Arizon State Fair.

Chestnut would also emerge victorious in the Waffle House eating championship, and come second to Kobayashi in the Krystal Square of qualifier of the World Hamburger Eating Championship.

There, he ate 56 Krystal Burgers compared to Kobayashi's 67. In the finals, Chestnut managed to eat 91 hamburgers compared to Kobayashi's 97.

In the 2006 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition, there was considerable speculation that Chestnut might beat Kobayashi, given his meteoric rise up to that point. Eventually, however, he narrowly lost, eating 52 hotdogs compared to Kobayashi's 53 and three quarters.

Joey Chestnut would once again face off against Kobayashi in a head-to-head on the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Competition in Wisconsin, eating 45 sausages compared to Kobayashi's 58.

In 2007, Hestnut went viral on the internet when he managed to down a gallon of milk in 41 seconds. He also won the Wing Bowl XV in Philadelphia, where within 30 minutes he ate 182 chicken wings, becoming the record holder.

On 2007's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, Chestnut finally scored a victory over Kobayashi by eating 66 hotdogs to his 63, leading to the latter's first defeat in six years of the contest.

In October of that year, Joy Chestnut managed to beat his own personal record on the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship.

Joey Chestnut would continue making waves throughout the competitive eating landscape for the remainder of the 2000s and 2010s, having an unbroken streak as the champion of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest until 2014.

This record would be broken in 2015 when he was defeated by Matt Stonie, but Joey Chestnut would make his comeback in 2016, beating Stonie's score of 53 hot dogs with his own 70. Also in 2016, Joey won his third consecutive victory at the United States Chicken Wing Eating Championships.

Nathan would begin another unbroken string of victories at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest until 2024, when a sponsorship with the competing brand Impossible Foods barred him from competing any further.

However, Netflix's Chestnut vs Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef would prove to be another career highlight for him, as he faced off against his longtime rival Takeru Kobayashi, who's long been an icon of competitive eating himself. The competition was another hot dog eating contest, which Chestnut won by eating 83 hot dogs compared to Kobayashi's 66.

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Chestnut Vs Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef streamed live on Netflix on September 2, 2024. It is viewable in all regions.